Mobile radio frequency (RF) chip designs (e.g., mobile RF transceivers) have migrated to deep sub-micron process nodes due to cost and power consumption considerations. The design complexity of mobile RF transceivers is further complicated by added circuit function and devices to support communication enhancements.
A mobile RF transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver, which are capable of transmitting and receiving communication signals, respectively. Conventionally, the transmitter's analog front end contains a power amplifier (PA) that provides the last stage of amplification of the signal to be transmitted, while the receiver's analog front end contains a low noise amplifier (LNA) that provides the initial stage of amplification of the signal to be received. In a wireless communication system, the transmit PA and receive LNA may each couple to a shared antenna through separate impedance matching networks and a common transmit/receive (T/R) switch through which both the high power transmit signal and the low power receive signal pass.